In 2020, the French palaeontologist Julien Benoit and colleagues analyzed lateral semicircular canal correlation to go posture on modern-day mammals, and found that while there was significant correlation concerning the reconstructed and precise head postures, the aircraft of your semicircular canal was not held horizontally inside the resting pose as inferred.
Nigersaurus did not show the same modifications viewed in the jaws of other dinosaurs with dental batteries, or mammals with elaborate chewing features. The decrease jaw was L-shaped and divided in the subcylindrical transverse ramus, which contained the teeth, as well as again ramus, which was more light-weight and was The placement for many of the muscle attachments. It was distinct in which the tooth row expanded to the sides in the aircraft of the main ramus of your decreased jaw.
All round, Nigersaurus was a unique and weird dinosaur resulting from its dental batteries and extensive muzzle, which allowed it to efficiently approach and Get plant materials. Its modest dimensions and herbivorous diet regime ensure it is an interesting distinction on the greater, carnivorous dinosaurs which are extra frequently identified to the general public.
The Nigersaurus roamed the lush landscapes of the center Cretaceous period, in what is currently the Sahara Desert of Niger. This place, the moment teeming with lifestyle, furnished a abundant tapestry of soft, leafy vegetation which was perfect for the Nigersaurus’s specialized diet regime.
On The premise of microtomography scans of cranium elements from the holotype specimen, Sereno and colleagues established a "prototype" Nigersaurus cranium they might examine. Additionally they created an endocast from the brain and scanned the semicircular canals of its interior ear, which they uncovered to get oriented horizontally. In their 2007 research, they said the composition in the occiput behind the skull and cervical vertebrae might have constrained the upward and downward movement of the neck and also the rotation in the skull.
In 1997, when paleontologist Paul Sereno initially began to unearth the remains of a dinosaur in Niger's Sahara Desert, he didn’t know what to think. He was excavating bones in the dry area known as Gadoufaoua, which had a abundant fossil bed initial learned by French uranium miners.
The quick substitute of its teeth, each and every 14 days, indicates that the Nigersaurus faced sizeable evolutionary pressures to maintain a relentless offer of practical teeth to cope with abrasive plant material. This adaptation underlines the evolutionary crucial to optimize feeding performance within an natural environment where by food stuff resources various and Competitors was fierce.
On The idea of microtomography scans of skull features from the holotype specimen, Sereno and colleagues made a "prototype" Nigersaurus skull they might study. In addition they produced an endocast of your brain and scanned the semicircular canals of its interior ear, which they discovered being oriented horizontally. In their 2007 research, they said which the structure with the occiput in the back of the cranium and cervical vertebrae would have restricted the upward and downward motion of your neck along with the rotation from the cranium.
A 2015 cladistic examine by Wilsona as well as the French palaeontologist Ronan Allain found Rebbachisaurus alone to group with the nigersaurines, plus the authors proposed that Nigersaurinae was what dinosaur has 500 teeth consequently a junior synonym of Rebbachisaurinae (given that that name might have priority).
The cranium of a Nigersaurus was product of skinny bones and experienced a lot of small openings and pores. These capabilities offered them good versatility in feeding on the bottom. The muzzle in the Nigersaurus was large and prolonged which helped it in taking in compact ground-centered vegetation.
The fragile nature in the Nigersaurus’s slender teeth and sensitive cranium manufactured excavation and preservation notably challenging. But, these difficulties had been met with impressive strategies in fossil recovery and 3D reconstruction, permitting scientists to piece alongside one another the intricate aspects of its jaw as well as astonishing assortment of five hundred teeth.
In 2020, the French palaeontologist Julien Benoit and colleagues tested lateral semicircular canal correlation to go posture on modern-day mammals, and located that even though there was important correlation involving the reconstructed and genuine head postures, the aircraft on the semicircular canal was not held horizontally during the resting pose as inferred.
But that’s not all; inside its oddly shaped muzzle, the dinosaur was equipped without below five hundred teeth (both of those “Lively” and substitution). The upper jaws contained 60 rows of compact, needle-shaped teeth, even though the lower jaws had no below 68 quite sharp teeth.
Limb material along with a scapula uncovered close by had been also referred to the same specimen. These fossils are housed for the Nationwide Museum of Niger.